‘It’s been bad luck’: Giants defender Sam Taylor ready to put gruesome injuries behind ahead of premiership charge

Despite two of the more gruesome injuries in a couple of months, Giants key defender Sam Taylor is fit and firing again and ready to atone for last year’s preliminary final heartache.

“Can I have some painkillers? Please, give me some painkillers?”

That was the plea from Giants defender Sam Taylor at halftime of their clash against Port Adelaide earlier this season.

Already being stitched up for a cut above his eyebrow, Taylor was also in discomfort from a groin injury. Little did he realise, but the 25-year-old had actually ruptured a testicle during an innocuous incident early in the match.

“It happened in the first five minutes of the game. I’m still not 100 per cent sure when,” Taylor said. “It’s not even like someone hit me, I jumped forward and slid on the ground.

“Ten minutes later I was sore, looked down and was like, ‘Looks fine, I’m all good’. Then at halftime, as I was getting stitches I was like, ‘Oh god, my balls are sore. Can I please have some painkillers?’.”

Taylor played out the match against Port Adelaide despite rupturing his testicle. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Pushing through the pain barrier, Taylor played out the game as the Giants secured a vital win. But he knew it had come at a cost when scans revealed the severity of the injury.

It’s fair to say 2024 hasn’t been the season Taylor envisaged. The rupture came a bit over a month after he returned from a severe concussion he suffered against St Kilda.

Players would go through their whole career without suffering injuries as gruesome as what Taylor has in the past few months. It’s been tough to deal with considering his success in footy has come from his uncompromising willingness to put his body on the line.

Building up the confidence to do that again has required more time than he realised.

Taylor is marking with confidence and back to his best again. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

“It’s been an interesting year, because having a concussion and then rupturing my groin, you come back and you’re a bit hesitant and you second guess yourself,” Taylor said.

“Seeing myself just completely unconscious, that was definitely a rough period. Coming back also freaked out family and friends. Then with the testicles, it’s such a rare injury that I’m trying to think, ‘How can I make this not happen again?’.

“It definitely took me three, four weeks to get back into my groove after that, similar to my concussion. And when I’m not playing instinct footy, I’m definitely not at my best.

“I love playing hard, I love playing strong, tough football, and when I second guess and think about that stuff, I can’t do that. I’ve put in place a few things to reassure myself that even if it happens again, I’m in a good place.

“They’re football injuries. It’s been bad luck and it sucks, but I feel like it is what it is. I fought through a lot of demons with it, but I feel like I’m on the other side now. I’m confident again and hopefully, I can take that into finals and we win some games.”

Taylor is ready to put that into action against the Swans this Saturday. While there will be no inflammatory comments like earlier in the year where he labelled their cross-town rivals as “smug” – “I was coming back from concussion, that was my excuse,” he said – Taylor is still full of belief that an upset is on the cards.

The Giants’ 3-0 finals record against the Swans is one thing, but they are full of conviction that their best footy is the best in the competition. And with residual heartache from last year’s preliminary final defeat, they’ve got all the motivation they need.

The memory of their preliminary final heartache is still real for Taylor. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images

“There’s a bit of feeling in this, you want to win it badly,” Taylor said.

“We have full confidence that we’re the best defence in the league. And to prove it, first week of finals, you’ve got to show up and get it done. And I think that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to try to be unstoppable, and get back to being the best.

“You don’t take finals for granted. You appreciate the one-percenters a bit more and take pride in everything we do. Because we lost by one point last year, and that hurts. And you think of every situation you could have slightly improved.

“We still feel like we haven’t played our best football yet. We haven’t played a full four-quarter game … if we do that, we can beat anyone. The brand we play is special, and hopefully, we can bring it.”

Originally published as ‘It’s been bad luck’: Giants defender Sam Taylor ready to put gruesome injuries behind ahead of premiership charge